Today was another travel day but the further we moved north, the more we saw the effects of Cyclone Debbie that came through back in March and April. The trees had been stripped of their leaves and the regrowth was going strong. A number of older buildings and signs were on the ground.

There was also signs of the mining boom at its end up north with a large number of wide loads carrying mining machinery heading south. I guess tourism is going to be the main drawcard for a lot of those towns now.

We did go in to Airlie Beach and once again the effect of Cyclone Debbie could be seen with broken signs and rooves covered in tarps. For a town that is named for a beach, the beach itself is not very big. I guess it is more a drop off point for the islands.

The big thing for the day was the Big Mango at Bowen, then it was on to Townsville. We arrived at dusk and went for a look up at Kissing Point Fort (a World War 2 em-battlement) for a sunset shot.

Tonight was the first of the State of Origin Rugby League series between Queensland and New South Wales. There was no way that we were going to miss out with the caravan park setting up a big screen and BBQ next to our site. So there was to nothing to do but join 100 of our newest friends and watch the game.

It was a good game even though NSW gave Queensland a hiding – most of the folk watching the game seemed to like the outcome. Just as the game finished, the rain came down.

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